Sounders FC Acquires Goalkeeper Stefan Frei

RENTON, WASH. – Seattle Sounders FC has acquired goalkeeper Stefan Frei from Toronto FC in exchange for a 2015 conditional first round SuperDraft pick, the club announced today. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Frei, 27, was Toronto’s longest tenured player and is the club’s all-time leader in appearances across all competitions (99), winning four Canadian Championships. He holds a 1.54 goals against average in 82 regular season starts, but has missed much of the past two seasons due to injury.

“Stefan is a goalkeeper we have liked for a number of years,” said Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “He is a quality professional who brings experience and leadership to the position. Adding Stefan at this point of his career was very attractive to us.”

Frei made 81 appearances in his first three seasons with Toronto before suffering a broken fibula in 2012, making just one league appearance in the past two seasons. He has posted 19 career shutouts, making 314 saves on 452 shots, and has gone 20-35-25 as a starter for Toronto FC. Frei has posted two shutouts in five matches against Sounders FC, allowing seven goals while making 20 saves.

In his first professional season in 2009, Frei made 26 starts with a 1.49 goals against average and was named the Toronto FC Defender of the Year. In his second season, he made a career high 28 starts while posting his best-ever goals against average (1.32) and most shutouts (8). Frei was also named the Toronto FC Humanitarian of the Year in 2010. His last full season was in 2011 when he started 27 matches and allowed 49 goals.

Frei, a Generation adidas product and MVP at the 2009 MLS Player Combine, was selected by Toronto FC in the first round (13th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC. He played three seasons for the University of California, Berkeley, where he was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team, Top Drawer Soccer First Team, NSCAA First Team Far West All-Region and was on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list in 2008.